our priorities

Regional resilience

Our infrastructure is resilient to adverse events and supports our region’s economic and social development.

Being prepared for the future is a theme that runs through everything we do at Greater Wellington. When we talk about a resilient region we mean building communities that are robust and equipped to withstand adverse events, including significant financial shocks, the effects of climate change, flooding and earthquakes.

Greater Wellington influences the resilience of the region in three ways. One way is through the resilience of the infrastructure we own and manage on behalf of the region, including water supply and public transport. Another is through co-ordination. Resilience often requires working together, and Greater Wellington co-ordinates a number of regional efforts to improve resilience, including the Wellington Region Emergency

Greater Wellington also has specific responsibility for managing the risk of flooding from streams and rivers. Floods are one of the region’s most significant natural hazards and have the potential to cause both economic and social hardship. As weather patterns change and become more unpredictable, we anticipate more frequent and intense rainfall events and higher river flows. As the region’s population grows, there may be pressure to intensify development in flood prone areas.

Historically, our approach to flood protection had a strong engineering focus. While we remain committed to protecting communities from flooding, we are now working with iwi, communities and councils to achieve greater social, economic and environmental outcomes from flood protection work.

“Our infrastructure is resilient to adverse events and supports our region’s economic and social development.”